ARTE TOKYO

ARTE TOKYO, the Tokyo International Festival of Arts and Culture, is a festival held for the first time in the autumn and winter of 2026. It is organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the festival's executive committee. It brings together the art, theater, music, illuminations and entertainment staged across Tokyo in that season and presents them as one festival of the city. Its own works are placed in streets, parks and along the waterfront, in three core areas: the bay area around Odaiba, Hibiya and Marunouchi, and Yoyogi and Shibuya.

The festival opens with ARTE TOKYO CIRCUS, contemporary circus and street performance directed by Tanaka Michiko, staged in the open city rather than under a tent. After the opening in Odaiba, with live music, aerial acts, a Cyr wheel (a large single ring that a performer rolls and spins inside) and acrobatics on a 6-meter frame, the circus goes on to perform in each of the core areas.

The bay area

In the bay area, the festival runs alongside TOKYO ATLAS, an international art exhibition across Daiba, Aomi and Tennozu. It treats the water of Tokyo Bay, the lights of the towers and the sea wind as a single stage. The works include Alloscape by Daito Manabe and Kyle McDonald, produced by Rhizomatiks, which builds a second landscape from the waves, wind, clouds, light and people of Odaiba Beach. On the same beach hangs a giant hammock made from discarded fishing nets taken from Tokyo Bay. A special boat service, ARTE TOKYO CRUISE, links Odaiba Marine Park and Tennozu Pier by water.

Hibiya and Marunouchi

Hibiya and Marunouchi is an area of offices, shopping streets, squares and parks. Here the works are set into the everyday streets, to make passers-by see a familiar place in a new way. They include a sculpture by magma that gives form to a spirit watching over Hibiya, and a large video installation by exonemo at Tokyo International Forum about the unseen links of the information society. On Gyoko-dori, figures made of air take human shape, and a long bench made of separate pieces joins the scale of the street to the scale of the people sitting side by side.

Yoyogi and Shibuya

In Yoyogi and Shibuya, Yoyogi Park, where the fountain area is being renewed, serves as the hub linking Shibuya with Harajuku and Omotesando. The works in the park include the face of a real person floating in the sky, by the art group mé, and a straight line of 100 fluorescent lamps, 64 meters long and 7 meters above the ground. Other works stand at the United Nations University and on the site of the former Children's Castle. The illumination Yoyogi Forest of Lights is one of the highlights of the area.

Hamarikyu Gardens

To mark the first festival and the 80th anniversary of Hamarikyu Gardens opening to the public, a night-time art project is held in the garden, which is designated both a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and a Special Historic Site. It is produced by Sugiyama O, who has made many projects in the city that combine art and technology.

Beyond its own programs, the festival lists more than 100 partner programs across Tokyo in five genres. Its highlights include the illuminations of Marunouchi, Hibiya, Omotesando and Odaiba.